Untitled Sermon (3)

Title: Those Who Serve

Text:

Intro: The Medal of Honor, often called the Congressional medal of honor, is awarded by the president of the United States for valorous actions in combat. It is a heralded honor reserved for those actions so selfless in the line of fire that many recipients are awarded the medal posthumously.

In the Christian faith, we don't receive medals of honor for living selfless and sacrificial lives. But one day we will receive a crown, a righteous crown according to the apostle Paul who writes, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing ().

In times of despair, heartache, and sorrow, those who stick with us, are like an oasis in the midst of a desert. This was the case for the apostle Paul. In the latter part of chapter 2 of Paul's letter to the Philippians he praises Timothy and Epaphroditus, two men he could trust, two men he could count on in the bad times, and the times can't get must worst than a Roman prison cell from which he pens this letter.

Throughout this small-four chapter letter, Paul main concern was not his imprisonment, and neither was it his uncertain fate. His main concern was always others. In this case the Christians back at Philippi. Paul's imprisonment prevents him from checking in on the church at Philippi, so he informs them that he will be sending his faithful son in the faith, Timothy.

The need for accountability is built into all of us. Our children need to be held accountability. We need to be held accountable. Workers need accountability. Even Christians need accountability.

Elmer Towns, the man who many call Mr. Sunday School, once said, people don't do what you expect. They do what you inspect. Paul wanted the Philippians to know that although he couldn't come visit them, he was sending Timothy to check in on them and he would report back to him. His hope, he tells them, is that their faithfulness would cheer him up.

But from that point on, he praises Timothy and Epaphroditus in hopes that the Christians at Philippi will pattern their lives after these two men. In Timothy and Epaphroditus we have two men who shine brightly for Christ. Such men and women are in short supply, therefore we need to embrace and practice two principles when it comes to those who shine brightly for Christ. We need to appreciate them and pray for them.

Notice how Paul praises Timothy to the Philippian church. He writes, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel (verses 19-22).

He wants the Christians at Philippi to receive and appreciate Timothy.

I. Appreciate Them

We need to take notice. We need to appreciate those who serve Christ and His church.

Bro. T. H., a pastor from back home used to say, I want to give my flowers to the living, not the dead. What he did and encouraged his congregation to do was to show appreciation to others while they're still with us, instead of waiting until they die.

Please don't wait. Don't put it off. Show your appreciation to those who serve Christ and His church. Show it not just with words, but actions. As brother T. H. would say, give them their flowers now, not after they die.

To appreciate someone rightly, we need to get a right view of them. Take time to take notice of all they do, for you, for others, for this church, for the gospel. In doing so, you may see some bright lights that are indispensable.

A. They are Indispensable

What I mean is that without them, we, the church, or the gospel are affected in a negative way. Certain things or tasks won't get done, certain positions won't be filled, and certain ministries will have to be cut back because of lack of funds.

I hope you are as thankful as I am that we have some Timothys and Epaphrodituses in this church. But do we appreciate them? In fact, without putting forth effort and time, most of us wouldn't know who these people are and what all they do in this church.

Over the last few years, some of our older saints have left us for a better home. Out of these saints, some would fit into the category of the indispensable. Although their age and health may have prevented them from attending our services, they saw to it that their tithes got to church. If some of their family couldn't bring them, they would call me up, or when I made my weekly nursing home visit, they would give me their check to put in the offering. I'm not talking about a twenty here or there, but a hundred or two hundred dollar check on a regular basis. You want to know why we are running behind financially, a large part of it is that some of the indispensable givers have been promoted to heaven, and no one has step up to replace that Timothy or that Epaphroditus among us.

Are you thankful for the time and effort that David and Suzanne Weir put in with the youth? Are you thankful for all the ladies that will play our piano for us? Are you thankful for all the guys that helped us get our new baptistery in and those who hooked it up such as James Morrow and Johnny Pendley, who spent days hooking up water lines and running electricity to it. Are you thankful for the ladies who do such a good job decorating the church throughout the year. Are you thankful for all those who help in the shoebox ministry, the Christmas decorating, and the meals for families that suffer a death in them.

Are you thankful for David Osborn and Leriegus Davis who drive the van? Are you thankful for those who keep the nursery, teach Sunday School, children church, and Junior church.

In my search for someone last Wednesday night, I stuck my head in the fellowship hall, and what do you think I saw? I saw 18 young children that Leriegus spends two hours picking up by way of two van loads, and then another two hours taking them home and teaches them in-between. He leaves out about 5 p.m. and gets home about 10 p.m.

Wouldn't it be great if we had another van or bus that could pick up one of those loads. Wouldn't it be great if we had to money to buy one and another Timothy or Epaphroditus to drive it.

I said at the first of the year, we need to be more like the Philippian church in that we partner together so as to spread the load out. God has called all believers to be Timothys or Epaphrodituses, that is selfless, sacrificing, servants of God.

Paul is thankful for his Timothy and Epaphroditus. We too must be thankful but also need more Timothys in our churches. It doesn't matter whether they are male or female Timothy's. What matters is that they are as faithful, dependable, selfless, and sacrificial.

In my message last week we saw Paul speak about the Philippi Christians as being a light to the world. He said, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,… (verse 15).

From what Paul says about Timothy and Epaphroditus, they were the brightest lights around. We need to recognize these bright lights from time to time.

B. Recognize the Brightest

Paul did this with Timothy. He said, "I have no one like him." Timothy was a one in a million. He was a key player in the Christian movement. It wasn't that Paul didn't know other Christians. The problem was that he didn't know other Christians who were as faithful, selfless, and sacrificial as Timothy. Only Timothy and Epaphroditus were willing to visit Paul in prison. They were willing to put their own lives at risk by letting the authorities know that they were friends of Paul and followers of Christ. Their faithfulness and commitment to serving was appreciated by Paul, so Paul praised them both to the Christians at Philippi.

We as a church, and as individual believers, should show our appreciation to those who shine the brightest. We need to complement them. We need to encourage them. We need to offer to help them.

The other day my daughter had her first major test in her computer class at USI. Last Thursday she ran into the computer class teacher in the hallway. He stopped her and expressed his appreciation for the hard work she has put in. He then said, it encourages me to see a student work hard. Even college teachers need encouragement.

Unfortunately, if you don't come to Sunday School, or Wednesday night services, you probably have no idea how much time and effort some of our people put in. So I invite you to come to both Sunday School and our Wednesday night services. I invite you to our meal on Wednesday night. Sharon Day does a great job cooking most Wednesdays and Leriegus and Melissa does so one Wednesday night a month. I invite you to take notice of how others are serving. I invite you to appreciate the Timothys Epaphrodituses in our church. I invite you to appreciate them enough to help share their load.

Most churches are always short on two things, money and workers. Notice the distress in Paul's writing about there being so few workers like Timothy. He writes, 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel (verses 20-22).

Even within the church you have most people seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. They come to get, not to give. They are spectators, not participators. They come expecting to be entertained, not to serve. A good illustration of such people is the story of the family who went to church and on the way home, the parents griped about different things in the service. The mother said, wasn't the choir off key today? The dad said, and the preacher was certainly dull this morning, and the older sister said, and the service was too loud. Finally, the little boy said, "well I thought it was a pretty good show for the dollar you put in the plate.

God doesn't want spectators, He wants participators. He wants Timothys and Epaphrodituses. Unfortunately, there was a shortage back then and there is today of people like Timothy Epaphordituses. God knows many more are needed like these two men.

C. Many More Needed

If we take notice of how few do so much, we will see the need for more faithful servants. Jesus saw it, for He once said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest ().

There's not a Christian in this building that can't pray for more workers, more Timothys and Epaphroditus'. The problem is our brains are leaky vessels. We will forget about praying for workers before I get to my next point in the message. But there are ways to work around leaky brains. How many of you have smart phones? Take them out right now and hold them in the air. Go to your calendar and put in an appointment with God. Set the day and time to alert you. You might set it for a few minutes, everyday, before going to bed or a few minutes after you get up. But if you have trouble doing this because you're techno challenged, just ask any child from the age of 5 on up, and most likely they can help you with it.

When you're praying for more workers, don't be surprised if God calls you.

Not only should we pray for more workers, more Timothys, and more Epaphrodituses, we need to pray for the workers themselves, those who serve us and God.

II. Pray for Them

Paul doesn't mention prayer in these passages concerning Epaphroditus, but there's no doubt he prayed and prayed hard for the healing of Epaphroditus. I say this because Paul attributes his recovery to God. He points out in verse 27, Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

Epaphroditus was sent to Paul, bearing gifts from the Philippian congregation, after they heard that Paul was in prison. But during his stay with Paul, Epaphroditus became very ill, even to the point of death. Even servants of God get sick. In fact, they often get sick because of their self-sacrificing nature. This is why they need our prayers the most.

A. They are Self-Sacrificing

These bright stars are constantly putting their lives at risk for the gospel and for others. They sacrifice their health, their wealth, and even their families for others. Verse 30 states, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

In his commentary to the Philippians, William Barclay points out that the phrase translated risking his life comes from the Greek word paraboleuesthai; it is a gambler’s word, and means to stake everything on a throw of the dice. Paul is saying that, for the sake of Jesus Christ, Epaphroditus gambled his life.

Although few believers in American gamble their physical lives away by serving Christ, we often do gamble our financial security, gamble our health, gamble our families. For in serving Christ and others, we don't spend the needed time with our families, give up jobs that provide financial security, visit the sick, despite the dangers of their illness.

Those who serve the most, need prayer the most, and especially when they get sick.

B. They Get Sick

There is a great truth here concerning sickness, miracles, and prayer. Although Paul had been used by God to heal the sick and even raise the dead, he doesn't seem to be able to heal Epaphroditus. In Matthew Henry's commentary on the Bible he says, Sickness is a calamity common to men, to good men and ministers. But why did not the apostle heal him, who was endued with a power of curing diseases, as well as raising the dead? . Probably because that was intended as a sign to others, and to confirm the truth of the gospel, and therefore needed not be exercised one towards another. These signs shall follow those who believe, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover, , . And perhaps they had not that power at all times, and at their own discretion, but only when some great end was to be served by it, and when God saw fit.

While we don't know God's purpose for others, it is our responsibility to pray for them. God may, or may not heal them, for we just don't know until we have prayed for them and then take notice of the results.

The last thing we want to look at is found in verse 27, Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

C. They Experience Sorrow

The apostle Paul was a man of faith, a man of conviction, a man of power, but most of all, he was still a man. He was a person. He was someone who felt pain, sorrow, and loneliness. The death of Epaphroditus would have been one sorrow upon the other. His other sorrow may have been his imprisonment, or it could have been the death of another minister that is not mentioned in the Bible. All we know is that if Epaphroditus had died, it would have been a heavy load for Paul to bear.

I know what Paul was talking about. Servants of God suffer great sorrow when fellow servants die. Of all the funerals I have conducted in my almost thirty years of total ministry, especially those I've done for Concord members, I have found those who shine the brightest, have been the most difficult to perform. Oh, the messages have been easy to prepare, but the sorrow of knowing they will not be there to assist me, to encourage me, to be used by God to meet the needs of the church and of others, that's what's so difficult.

Conclusion: In conclusion, I urge you to look around at those servants who sacrifice and suffer for the gospel and for others. Once you spot them, give them their flowers now. Don't wait until they are dead. Let them know how much you appreciate them. Let them know you are praying for them. And if at all possible, let them know by assisting them, or by helping someone else in honor of them.

But why should we put our lives at risk? Why should we sacrifice? Why should we give of ourselves? I can only think of one good reason. Christ!! If you're saved, it's because of Christ. If you're sins have been forgiven, it's because of Christ.

In Barclay's commentary, he points out that all Christians should be willing to risk their lives as did Epaphroditus. He writes, In the days of the early Church, there was an association of men and women called the parabolani, the gamblers. It was their aim to visit the prisoners and the sick, especially those who were ill with dangerous and infectious diseases. In ad 252, plague broke out in Carthage; the people threw out the bodies of their dead and fled in terror. Cyprian, the Christian bishop, gathered his congregation together and put them to work burying the dead and nursing the sick in that plague-stricken city; and by so doing, at the risk of their lives, they saved the city from destruction and desolation.

In all Christians, there should be an almost reckless courage which makes them ready to gamble with their lives to serve Christ and other people.

The apostle Paul said it best in , For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Let's pray.